BREAKING NEWS: Beverly Hills Hotel Workers Join Santa Monica on Strike Strikes Grow Following Hotels’ Failure to Increase Wage Offer
Beverly Hills, CA: The wave of hotel worker strikes grew early Thursday morning in response to hotel companies’ failure to provide an economic proposal at last week’s negotiations. Hundreds of workers across multiple properties in Beverly Hills, including the Waldorf Astoria, Beverly Hilton, and Fairmont Century Plaza, walked out on strike.
“My coworkers and I have given years of service making the beds, cooking the food and washing the dishes of those who visit Beverly Hills, yet we cannot afford to provide for our families. I am on strike because we deserve our fair share,” said Lucero Ramirez, housekeeper at the Waldorf Astoria.
Two issues dominated negotiations on Thursday, September 21st. First, hotel workers demanded an end to violence against striking workers. Strikers at the Fairmont Miramar as well as the Maya Long Beach and Laguna Cliffs Marriott have been the subject of violent assaults by guests and security personnel. More recently, the JW Marriott LA Live summoned the LAPD against picketing workers and their supporters who were detained and cited for using drums during a peaceful demonstration. The employers refused to acknowledge the violence, much less commit to ending it.
Second, dozens of workers spoke about their inability to pay for their housing and their commitment to continue fighting until they win a wage that allows them to live in the city where they work. The Union then made a new economic proposal. After a more than three-hour caucus, despite enjoying record revenues the hotels returned without a counter proposal.
Hotel workers across the region have walked out beginning the Fourth of July weekend. They are demanding wages to help keep up with the rising cost of housing, better pension plans to retire with dignity, humane workloads and affordable family healthcare. Workers have called for a boycott of hotels across Los Angeles until the companies put an end to the violence and agree to a contract with living wages.
MELISSA AND ROSA
The 3rd wave of the nation’s largest hotel strike expands to Beverly Hills as more than 1,000 more cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen, and front desk agents at multiple properties walked out this morning.
Beverly Hills Hotel Workers Strike, 3rd Wave Grows
Beverly Hills, CA: The 3rd wave of the nation’s largest hotel strike expands to Beverly Hills as more than 1,000 more cooks, room attendants, dishwashers, servers, bellmen, and front desk agents at multiple properties walked out this morning.
Jovani Ramirez, a cook who works at both the Beverly Hilton and Fairmont Century Plaza and commutes from Santa Clarita said, “I am going on strike because I work two full time jobs to provide for my 4 children. I need free family healthcare because my youngest son is autistic. It is morally wrong that I work 16 hours a day in our most prosperous industry but cannot afford to live in Los Angeles.”
“A room attendant at the Waldorf Astoria must work 60 hours to earn enough to pay for one night at this ritzy hotel,” said Kurt Petersen, Co-President of UNITE HERE Local. 11. “Yet the hotel’s last offer did not add one more penny for wages. Hilton could care less about whether their workers are able to afford to live in Los Angeles.”
Thousands of workers at 43 hotels have struck so far. But only the Westin Bonaventure has reached a tentative agreement that includes a living wage that will enable workers to afford to live in the city where they work.
Last week, the hotel industry led by Hilton, Hyatt and Marriott, presented a new economic proposal that did not have one penny more for wages, pension or healthcare.
The ongoing labor unrest has caused groups such as the Democratic Governors Association, Japanese American Citizens League, W.K Kellogg Foundation and Vanderpump Rules to cancel their events.
The union’s bargaining committee sent a letter to the American Political Science Association requesting that the 6000 person organization cancel its Annual Meeting & Exhibition, which is set to take place on August 31 to September 3, 2022 at the Los Angeles Convention Center.
